Islam Makhachev: Arman Tsarukyan should “thank me” for putting him on the UFC map

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev believes Arman Tsarukyan should be grateful to him for starting his UFC career.

Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) made his UFC debut in a short-notice fight against Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) in April 2019. He lost the Fight of the Night by unanimous decision and has been 9-1 in the race for the lightweight title ever since.

Makhachev claims to have given the 22-year-old Tsarukyan this great opportunity.

“I think Arman should thank me. I signed Arman to fight me,” Makhachev told UFC Eurasia. “He was signed to the UFC. I didn't know anything about Arman at the time. I had never seen him fight. I just thought he was a debutant. I wouldn't call it a close fight, even though a lot of people say that. I won every round, but Arman is still demanding a rematch.”

Tsarukyan was the No. 1 contender at UFC 300 in April when he defeated Charles Oliveira, but turned down a short-notice opportunity to face Makhachev in the main event of UFC 302 (pay-per-view/ESPN2/ESPN+) on Saturday. Makhachev will instead face Dustin Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

“He had many opportunities to step in as a replacement,” Makhachev said. “I know he was offered a fight against me before UFC 302. Either way, our rematch is inevitable. We'll sort it out soon.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

The story originally appeared on MMA Junkie